Linguists

Columbia University linguistics professor and bestselling author John McWhorter discusses some of the quirks of the English language and explains why one of Stephen’s favorite Southern words will always be considered slang. McWhorter’s book “Pronoun Trouble” is available now.  To learn more about listener data and our

Jonah Goldberg knows many a public intellectual, but linguist extraordinaire John McWhorter is one of his favorites. John returns to the show to discuss his new book, Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words. Topics include: grammars of the elite, the imposition of language rules, the they-shaped elephant

John McWhorter, Columbia University linguistics professor, host of the Lexicon Valley podcast, opinion writer at The New York Times, and the author of Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words (Avery, 2025), talks about his new book that digs into the cultural and linguistic history of pronoun usage in Eng

Brynn Quick speaks with Dr. Lauren Gawne, about cross-cultural variation in gesture use. In this episode, Brynn and Lauren discuss a paper that Lauren wrote in 2024 with co-author Dr. Kensey Cooperrider entitled “Emblems: Meaning at the interface of language and gesture”. Brynn and Lauren talk all about how emblems are

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Brynn Quick speaks with Dr. Lauren Gawne, about cross-cultural variation in gesture use. In this episode, Brynn and Lauren discuss a paper that Lauren wrote in 2024 with co-author Dr. Kensey Cooperrider entitled “Emblems: Meaning at the interface of language and gesture”. Brynn and Lauren talk all about how emblems are